{"product_id":"victorian-micro-cameo-mourning-ring","title":"Victorian Micro Cameo Mourning Ring","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor more than 175 years this tiny onyx cameo, carved to depict an urn and a weeping willow, has served to commemorate the life - and death - of a man: \u003cem\u003eEdmund Gouldsmith Esq. \u003c\/em\u003ewho died on the 9th of December, 1850, aged 84. The micro cameo is set within a frame of black enamel 'petals', giving the head the appearance of a black and gold flower, and the enamel work continues down the shoulders and around the sides of the band. It's crafted in rich 18 carat gold with London hallmarks inside the band.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhilst I can't find any specific information about our Edmund online, his surname - Gouldsmith - is relatively rare, and the Esq. (as well as the fancy mourning ring) tells us that he was \u003cem\u003eA Gentleman\u003c\/em\u003e. The most famous being two painters: Harriet (1787-1863) and \u003cem\u003eEdmund Thomas\u003c\/em\u003e who was born in Bristol in 1852. The first might be a stretch, although the dates make her the right generation to be a daughter or niece, but this second Edmund - Edmund Thomas (1852-1932) - was the son of a Thomas Edmund Gouldsmith (1818-1892), described as \u003cem\u003ea landed gentleman. \u003c\/em\u003eWhich is interesting, because the relatively rare surname, the recurring Edmund\/Thomas given names, and the gentry status make a family link... \u003cem\u003emore-than \u003c\/em\u003eplausible? A son and grandson named in his memory? \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd what's more, the language of the ring is somewhat odd. There's a contrast between the cameo and the setting: by the 1820s the language of mourning was beginning to shift away from the neoclassical - the urns and willows - to more Christian imagery. The use of the urn and willow in 1850 must have been a deliberately old-fashioned choice, perhaps even an old stock cameo re-used. Was this a tribute to Edmund, a man born in the 1760s under George III who died under Victoria and a \u003cem\u003eBrave New World\u003c\/em\u003e, employing symbolisms and motifs in an earlier style, a style that he would have been more familiar with?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne final point for consideration: Tennyson published \u003cem\u003eIn Memoriam A.H.H.\u003c\/em\u003e in 1850, the great Victorian poem of grief, and it helped secure his appointment as Poet Laureate that same year. Edmund died in December 1850. The ring sits at a turning point: an 18th century urn of calm, classical acceptance, wrapped in the black enamel of a newer, more intense Victorian feeling about loss. Queen Victoria later wrote that, next to the Bible, \u003cem\u003eIn Memoriam\u003c\/em\u003e was her greatest comfort.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEra: Victorian, 1850\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStone: Onyx Cameo\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRing size: L 1\/2 or 6 US. Not resizable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHead: 12.3mm by 11.8mm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHallmarks: English, London, 18ct Gold, 1850\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: Good antique condition; some enamel loss around the sides of the band and light surface wear - see images.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lost Heirloom","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53066695967032,"sku":"PA352","price":1550.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/7387\/2952\/files\/Website-6743.jpg?v=1790948912","url":"https:\/\/lostowl.com\/products\/victorian-micro-cameo-mourning-ring","provider":"Lost Owl Jewelry","version":"1.0","type":"link"}